Vacuum cleaners typically have an on board dirt container for receiving and storing dirt and debris that has been sucked up from a surface that is being cleaned. Periodically the dirt container must be emptied and this can be an undesirable task for the user. It is known to increase the volume of the dirt container by providing a compaction mechanism in the dirt container. Examples of compaction mechanisms are shown in EP 1 671 569 and US 2008/0263815. This squashes the contents of the dirt container and increases the effective volume of the dirt container and means that the dirt container can be emptied less frequently.
A problem with the compaction mechanisms is that dirt and debris can accumulate above the compaction mechanism and interfere with the functionality of the compaction mechanism. This means that the compaction mechanism can become less effective or even inoperable.
Embodiments of the present invention aim to address the aforementioned problems.